European Commission Compromises on S-Mark Rules

However, according to European Tyre and Rubber Manufacturers Association (ETRMA), the following stipulations constitute the commission’s final decision and no physical s-marking will be required if:

•    Each type of tyre is submitted to a test to show compliance with the noise requirements set out in Directive 2001/43/EC.
•    A test report is produced (by the tyre manufacturers, in case they are accredited as technical services, or by any other accredited technical service) and validated by a type-approval authority (not necessarily the same who delivered the original type-approval);
•    Each tyre sold is accompanied by a certificate summarising the information contained in the test report;

Crucially this additional legal leeway only applies to tyres produced by week 40 of 2009.

Click here to download the official minutes of the EC meeting, which discussion 2001/43 at point six.